Charlies Bar

You pay attention to this place. And it is not about a big signboard “Charlies Bar”. A bright, colorful building is out of the other buildings on the St. Nicholas embankment in Aruba. You look at it, and the spirits rise!

Confidentially, it is not a real bar. And not a museum. Here, drinking a cocktail at a nice table in the bar, you will look around and learn the history of the island. Not the worst approach to education!

Even though the bar also works as a museum, initially, it was opening as a bar. And not in the quietest time. Spouses Charles and Maria Brown opened their building in the middle of World War II, in 1941.

The inhabitants of Aruba did not pay any interest to the things happening on the mainland, though they did humanitarian work. And the married couple as well. 

The sailors who just got off the ship, tired and exhausted by a long trip, as well as the workers of the Lago refinery with dark stains of fuel oil on their clothes and hands, all came to the Charles and Maria’s bar to relax, discuss the latest news and, of course, drink a pint of beer. 

One evening here, and you will no longer need to see museums or go to excursions. Antique items are on the walls of the bar: paintings, life jackets, frisbee, T-shirts of world sports teams, awards, souvenirs, photographs, and other historical artifacts. The waiters also tell you about the island better than any guide.

The building is impressive not only with its contribution to the history and methods of education but with its look. “Charlie’s Bar” got it owing to Charlies Brown Jr. He decided to add a little color to the white facade, varied menu, which you should try.